For generations, children have enjoyed riding on a whole host of child vehicles. Many children start with foot-to-floor vehicles, wherein the children shuffle their feet across the floor to propel the vehicle in a forward or reverse direction. After mastering the foot-to-floor vehicle, many children graduate to a tricycle, wherein the three-wheeled configuration provides stability as the child learns to propel the vehicle through pedaling. As the child continues to grow and advance in skill, the child may graduate to a bicycle, wherein the child will have to learn to balance himself or herself on the bicycle as the bicycle is pedaled in a forward direction.
When the child is ready to move from one child vehicle, such as the tricycle, to another child vehicle, such as the bicycle, the parents or guardians of the child often have to purchase a new vehicle, as many existing vehicles are designed only as a single configuration vehicle, i.e., the vehicle is either designed as a tricycle or designed as a bicycle. Manufacturers have struggled with this transition and have proposed various solutions that provide a vehicle having multiple configurations. For example, training wheels are a common item for children learning how to ride a bicycle, for example. As is well known, training wheels are often attached adjacent to and on either side of the rear wheel of the bicycle. This configuration then gives three points of contact on the rear of the vehicle. While this arrangement aids in balancing the child on the vehicle, precise alignment is required to prevent the vehicle from rocking back-and-forth and/or maintaining engagement of the rear wheel with the ground as the vehicle traverses the terrain. These shortcomings of training wheels are inconvenient for the parent or guardian, who generally must remain close to the child as he or she rides.
Another solution posed by manufactures includes providing a plurality of rear wheels which may be mounted or dismounted from the vehicle depending on what type of vehicle is desired. If a tricycle configuration is desired, then two rear wheels must be mounted onto the rear of the vehicle. This often requires a set of tools, such as wrenches, for example, and some amount of assembly, such as bolting or the like. If it is desired to change the vehicle to a bicycle, then the two rear wheels must be dismounted from the vehicle and a single rear wheel mounted to the vehicle. The single wheel is often mounted in a different location from each of the two rear wheels in the tricycle configuration. Similarly, this requires tools, disassembly steps, and assembly steps. Parents or guardians may find the need for tools, as well as the assembly/disassembly processes in changing the vehicle configuration inconvenient. Additionally, this solution often requires the parents/guardians to keep track of parts when not in use (e.g., one or more wheels). These parts often get lost leading to loss of function in converting the vehicle and increased consumer frustration.
In still another solution, some manufacturers have proposed child vehicles having wheels which remain attached to the vehicle, but are movable so as to provide different configurations for the vehicle. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,988,168 discloses a toy vehicle having a front fork assembly with two front wheels pivotally coupled thereto and a rear fork assembly with two rear wheels pivotally coupled thereto. When the wheels are on the outside of their respective forks, the wheels operate as two separate wheels. However, when the wheels are pivoted to be inside of their respective forks, then the two adjacent wheels are close enough together that they effectively operate as a single wheel. By way of example, FIG. 1 of the '168 patent shows the vehicle in a quadcycle configuration; FIG. 6 shows the vehicle in an inverted tricycle configuration; FIG. 7 shows the vehicle in a conventional tricycle configuration; and FIG. 8 shows the vehicle in a bicycle configuration.
While the toy vehicle disclosed in the '168 patent provides for transitioning the vehicle between various configurations, there are some drawbacks to this and other designs. In this regard, the mechanism that provides the pivotal movement of the wheels often limits the size of the wheels which may be used on the vehicle. For example, if the wheel is too large, as the wheel is pivoted from outside the fork to inside the fork, the wheel would contact the adjacent fork or wheel, and thereby be prevented from moving to its proper position. This may be demonstrated by the '168 patent by imagining replacing the wheels disclosed in the patent with wheels twice of three times as large. Such enlarged wheels would clearly not be able to pivot so as to transition between the various configurations. Because the wheels must be relatively small, such as those shown in the '168 patent, such mechanisms for providing the pivotal movement are useful on only the smallest of child vehicles, such as, for example, small foot-to-floor vehicles. These mechanisms generally cannot be used on larger child vehicles having larger diameter wheels.
Accordingly, there is a need for a wheel converting mechanism for a child vehicle and an associated method that allows the vehicle to transition between various configurations, such as between a tricycle and bicycle, without removing wheels from the vehicle and allowing larger wheels to be used on the vehicle.